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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725890">Sora's Snowy Rescue</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe'>Cait_Sidhe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dream Eater Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Game: Kingdom Hearts III, Hypothermia, Kingdom of Arendelle (Disney), Love Confessions, M/M, Missing Persons, Near Death Experiences, Protective Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Rescue, Snow, The Final World (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:02:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sora goes missing in Arendelle. Riku and Mickey join in the search to find him, and Donald and Goofy learn why humans need coats.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>172</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sora's Snowy Rescue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As it is (mostly) Riku's POV, descriptions of Donald and Goofy are somewhat negative, so sorry to those of you who like the characters. I have nothing against them myself, but it's my headcanon that Riku does.</p>
<p>One of the things that annoyed me in KHIII is that Sora didn't get an outfit change in Arendelle. It's a snowstorm; give the kid a coat! The game even acknowledges that Sora's cold because he doesn't have one. Is it really that difficult to conjure a coat, Donald?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You really think we’ll find something here?” Riku asked skeptically while walking down a gray cobblestone street. “This place was nearly completely destroyed and then rebuilt. Most of the citizens from ten years ago aren’t even here anymore…” By “here” Riku meant Radiant Garden, where he and King Mickey hoped to find information related to the locations of the missing key bearers.</p>
<p>“Well—” A ring from Mickey’s GummiPhone cut off the mouse’s response. “Oh, hold on a moment.”</p>
<p>“Is it Sora?” Riku asked, perhaps a little too excitedly judging by Mickey’s small chuckle before answering the call.</p>
<p>“King Mickey!” came Donald Duck’s signature warble.</p>
<p>Riku smiled; if Donald was on the phone, Sora must be as well.</p>
<p>“Hey guys,” Mickey greeted. “How’s everything—”</p>
<p>“It’s an emergency!” Donald said with urgency.</p>
<p>“Gosh, what’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“It’s Sora,” Goofy said. “He—”</p>
<p>Riku’s heart nearly stopped as he ripped the phone out of Mickey’s hand in a panic. “What's wrong with Sora!?” Riku shouted, loud enough to cause some passerby to glance at them.</p>
<p>“Wak!” Donald squawked in surprise.</p>
<p>“Well?” Riku demanded, not caring how rude he came across.</p>
<p>“Well, he’s kinda missing,” Goofy replied in his usual nonchalant demeanor, though there seemed to be at least a sliver of worry underneath.</p>
<p>“Missing,” Riku repeated flatly, narrowing his eyes. If anything happened to Sora, Riku swore he’d strangle the duck.</p>
<p>“Whoa, Riku, easy there,” Mickey said with worry. “You’re starting to leak darkness…”</p>
<p>“Right, sorry.” Riku took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, reigning in the wisps of darkness triggered by his emotions. He then asked, voice vibrating with tension that belied his attempt at an outwardly calm demeanor, “What happened?”</p>
<p>“Well, we were on the top of a mountain, and then an Organization person created a wind that blew us off of it,” Goofy explained. “Donald and I landed nearby each other, but Sora must have landed somewhere else. We’ve been looking but can’t find him. He won’t answer his GummiPhone either.”</p>
<p>“You… you were blown off a mountain?” Riku asked faintly.</p>
<p>The two nodded. “But it’s fine!” Donald reassured. “There’s a whole lot of snow here to break falls!” He moved the phone around so the King and Riku could see the environment. Riku knew they were trying to placate his clear worry, but there were so many trees and rocks and ice patches in addition to the snow…</p>
<p>“Plus, Sora can glide and stuff,” Goofy pointed out. “He can jump off cliffs without issue; a mountain is no different.” That actually did ease Riku’s worries about injuries obtained via falling, but…</p>
<p>“You said an Organization member is there?” Riku asked, sharper than intended.</p>
<p>The two nodded.</p>
<p>“Oh, but she’s not after Sora!” Donald said quickly.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Goofy continued, “She said she was watching if a girl named Elsa would become light or dark.”</p>
<p>Riku blinked in confusion, momentarily forgetting the main issue. “She?” Wasn’t the organization supposed to all become Xehanort? He had trouble picturing that guy being in the body of a woman. “You sure she was with the Organization?”</p>
<p>“Yup! She said so herself! Had the black hood and everything.”</p>
<p>“So the Organization is there, and Sora is missing,” Riku summed up, panic surging through him again. They claimed the member they saw had no interest in Sora, but it was possible they were mistaken, the woman lied, or another member lurked around the area. </p>
<p>“We’re going to come help,” Mickey decided. “Where were you again? Arendelle?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>══╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬══</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riku paced back and forth in the GummiShip, thoughts solely on Sora. He was missing. Missing! After falling from a mountain! How could that stupid duck and dog let that happen? They were supposed to be the responsible ones! No matter how much he disliked them, Riku still had trusted them to keep Sora safe!</p>
<p>“Hey, Riku?” Mickey called from the pilot seat—Riku would have preferred to drive, but the King claimed that he was too unfocused at the moment. Unfocused! Riku was plenty focused. He had to get to Arendelle immediately, Sora was in trouble. Oh, maybe that was why Mickey didn’t want him to drive; focusing solely on Sora might cause less focus on everything else, leading to reckless driving. But still!</p>
<p>“What?” Riku snapped, then immediately felt guilty for directing his upset towards the mouse. Riku took a deep breath. “Sorry, I mean, what is it?” he said more calmly, though tension still riddled his voice.</p>
<p>“Well, I know pacing helps you, but we’re about to enter an asteroid field, so it’d be best to sit down and buckle up.”</p>
<p>Riku took another deep breath. “Right, sorry.”</p>
<p>“No need to apologize! I know how much you worry about Sora. But we’ll find him!”</p>
<p>Riku nodded as he sat in the co-pilot sea and buckled in using bright yellow straps (what was with GummiShips and their obnoxious arrays of clashing colors?). “I know. I just get anxious when it comes to my friends.”</p>
<p>“Especially Sora,” Mickey said, a teasing note in this voice.</p>
<p>Riku blushed and turned away, but didn’t say anything. Mickey hadn’t said anything too directly about it, but Riku knew that Mickey knew that he had romantic feelings for Sora—long before Riku had fully realized it himself. He’d always known he felt stronger about Sora than any of his other friends, even Kairi, but it had taken him embarrassingly long to figure out why. It had only been Mickey’s recent words in the Realm of Darkness that had caused Riku to fully acknowledge those feelings, bringing them to his consciousness rather than hidden in his subconscious. Now the only question was if Sora felt the same way (Riku suspected that Sora hadn’t even given thought to who he liked. Before the Islands fell, Riku would have assumed it was Kairi, but watching him these few years Riku had realized Sora treated all his friends the same as he did her. Kairi had made it painfully obvious she liked him, but either Sora was just too oblivious or had been intentionally ignoring her flirting—Riku suspected it was the former. He’d been fighting or asleep most of puberty after all. When Riku had tried to tease Sora about the paopu fruit drawing in the cave during the trio’s brief return to the islands, Sora said something about friendship and immediately added Riku to it—Kairi looked vaguely annoyed at that—so Sora clearly did not realize that the legend usually was used in a romantic sense.)</p>
<p>“Riku, we’re here,” Mickey said, snapping Riku out of his inner reflections. </p>
<p>Riku nearly tore the straps as he rapidly divorced himself from the seat before dashing out the ship. On the ramp, Riku stumbled a little, letting out a slight gasp and clutching at his heart—there had been a slight tug on Riku’s link to Sora, which had been established after Riku had become his dream-eater, indicating Sora was hurting. </p>
<p>“Riku? Everything okay?” Mickey asked behind him.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah,” Riku said shakily. “Just tripped. Uh, didn’t expect it to be this cold,” he said, not sure why he had lied. Riku took a deep breath and quickly checked the link—still there. Sora was in trouble, though; Riku had to find him, soon.</p>
<p>“Oh, right!” Mickey did a spell, and Riku’s clothing changed to match the environment. They resembled his normal clothing, but he wore black snow boots instead of shoes, long thick black pants (with plaid faux-fur curling the bottom—what the hell?) instead of light capris, and a thick black down coat with the same color scheme as the pants.</p>
<p>“What is with those fairies and their current obsession with black and plaid?” Riku grumbled, garnering a chuckle from Mickey. “Hey, why don’t you have a coat?”</p>
<p>“Oh! Well, that’s because I have fur!” Mickey explained.</p>
<p>“Ah, right,” Riku could have smacked himself. “Anyway, where did Donald and Goofy say they’d meet up with us?”</p>
<p>“Hmm. They should be around here somewhere.”</p>
<p>Riku nodded. “Just a forewarning: you might have to stop me from strangling them.”</p>
<p>Mickey laughed a little. “Nah, pretty sure you won’t. You never do, and I know you and Donald don’t get along much.”</p>
<p>“I dunno, Mickey. If Sora gets hurt because they lost him, I can’t make any promises.”</p>
<p>Mickey put his hand on Riku’s elbow, unable to reach his shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure Sora will be fine.”</p>
<p>Riku closed his eyes. “Mickey, I can feel him through the dream-eater link. He’s alive at least, but… he’s weak.” His voice cracked and lowered in volume. “I’m worried. I’m really worried.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Mickey said in understanding. “I’m worried too… oh! Look, there’s Donald and Goofy.”</p>
<p>A sudden anger ignited in Riku as he noticed Sora’s two companions. As they approached, Donald caught his eye—Riku was glaring at the duck—and Donald visibly flinched. He knew he’d messed up; good. Goofy just seemed oblivious to the emotional tension, as usual.</p>
<p>“Hey, Riku,” Mickey said worriedly. “You’re leaking darkness again…”</p>
<p>Riku blinked, biting his lip as he pulled the darkness back in, abating his anger the best he could; while that wasn’t much, it was at least under control. Usually he had near-perfect control of it, but Sora was in trouble, making it difficult to keep his emotions—and therefore the darkness—in line.</p>
<p>Goofy and Donald explained again what had happened, and the general direction they had fallen from the mountain. Riku suggested looking further down the mountain than where Donald and Goofy had landed, as Sora loved gliding from high up. The two had looked higher earlier, thinking Sora would have simply initiated an earlier fall as he would want to climb the mountain again, but it was Sora. He probably wouldn’t have been thinking about that, rather only thinking about the fact that he was gliding so high up and impulsively tried a really long one.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>══╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬══</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riku felt like they’d been searching for hours, though in reality it had only been about twenty minutes or so. The group had fanned out, so Riku walked in silence, the only sound the crunch of his boots in the unmarred snow, the world eerily still. He’d come across a couple heartless, but nothing too major; Riku hoped Sora hadn’t gotten attacked. On occasion, Riku could feel a tug on their connection, weak like earlier. Sora was calling for him. Riku closed his eyes, listening; if he concentrated, he could slightly feel a vague direction to head in, though it was broad rather than certain; he’d been pausing every so often to readjust. Hopefully he’d find Sora soon…</p>
<p>After another ten minutes of searching, Riku caught a set of footprints from the corner of his eye, the indents in the snow instantly recognizable to Riku. “Sora!” He called, running alongside the prints as fast as he could in the deep snow. Where was he? Riku’s panic rose as he felt the connection growing weaker…</p>
<p>“SORA!” Riku yelled, increasing his speed upon seeing a splash of color up ahead in the snow. His heart dropped to his intestines as Riku skidded to a stop next to his friend, a wave of panic nearly drowning him, unable to properly breathe between that and exhaustion from the sprint.</p>
<p>Sora lay still in the snow, curled on his side as though he were sleeping, a light dusting of snow covering him (thank the gods the snow had stopped earlier). Riku quickly used an “aero” spell to blow the snow off and dry Sora’s clothes, then pulled Sora into his arms as he checked his pulse and breathing; Riku let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding—both were extremely weak, but thankfully there. Sora’s blue-tinged skin felt like ice; the beginnings of frostbite crawled across it. Riku gathered magical energy in his hands; as he whispered “curaga,” the energy grew into glowing green vines that wrapped around Sora, healing energy seeping into him before they dissolved, but although the frostbite subsided the skin remained cold to the touch and Sora didn’t wake. </p>
<p>“Why the hell isn’t he wearing a coat,” Riku muttered, removing his own and wrapping Sora in it. He shivered from the intense cold, although thankfully the magic had given him a long-sleeve turtleneck instead of the usual t-shirt (like Sora had on. What the fuck. Riku would kill Donald.)</p>
<p>Riku stood, Sora curled in his arms, and began to quickly follow his footprints back towards where their ship was stationed, hoping the light snow that had again begun to fall wouldn’t cover the earlier prints. As soon as Riku recovered his mana, he would use another “curaga”, hoping that he could stave off the budding hypothermia until Sora could get warmed up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>══╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬══</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sora found himself standing on sparking blue water; fluffy white clouds reflected in it from a sapphire sky that seemed to blend right into it. He felt a slight sense of nostalgia from this place. How had he gotten here? What had he been doing before this? Sora could only remember the feeling of coldness, but that was gone, as there was no temperature here. It was nice.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t be here,” came a voice that echoed in the otherwise-silent place. </p>
<p>As Sora looked around for the source of the voice, he suddenly realized that otherwise it was too silent—he couldn’t even sense his own heartbeat. Yet somehow he felt calm despite that. Peaceful. It was peaceful here.</p>
<p>“Down here,” said the voice, and Sora looked down. The most adorable little cat-like creature looked at him, wide-eyed. A dream-eater?</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Sora asked, his voice echoing too. “Where is this place?”</p>
<p>The creature sighed. “That doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be here. You should go back.”</p>
<p>“But where is here? Go back where?”</p>
<p>“Back to the living world. Your story isn’t over.”</p>
<p>Sora scrunched his face in confusion. “Living world? So am I—”</p>
<p>The creature shook its head frantically. “Nooooo, not yet! This is an in-between place. You can still go back.”</p>
<p>Sora thought for a moment. He felt a slight urge to go back, but it was also nice here. Sora tried to remember what about the living world was so important, but his thoughts were fuzzy. “What if I don’t want to go back?”</p>
<p>The creature looked completely panicked at those words. “No! No, you must go back! It’s not your time yet!”</p>
<p>“But—”</p>
<p>“No ‘buts’! You have people waiting for you. Please, you must go back,” the creature pleaded.</p>
<p>“People waiting…” Sora mused. “Who—” Suddenly, Sora felt a sharp pull in his chest, where his heart was, and he gasped, remembering. “Riku!”</p>
<p>The creature nodded excitedly. “Yes, Riku! Riku is doing all he can to keep you safe, to keep you alive. You need to return to him. He needs you, as you need him.”</p>
<p>Sora nodded resolutely. “Right. Riku. Riku needs me.” Sora took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking only about Riku.</p>
<p>The next thing Sora felt was cold. Bitter cold. He tried to open his eyes, but found he had no strength to. His arms felt like lead, impossible to lift. But he was moving—someone was carrying him, someone warm, and he knew who it was. “Ri… ku…” he muttered quietly, though even that one word took all his energy.</p>
<p>“Sora,” Riku whispered in return, voice shaking, as he slightly squeezed Sora in an effort to draw him closer.</p>
<p>Sora thought he felt a tear hit his cheek before his consciousness again faded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>══╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬═╬══</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riku tried to withhold tears; he could feel Sora beginning to fade despite all his “curaga”s. Why wasn’t it enough? If Sora died here… Riku mentally shook himself. No. Sora couldn’t die here. Riku wouldn’t let him. He concentrated on the link between their hearts and gave it a tug, willing Sora to hold on, to stay with him.</p>
<p>A moment later, Sora’s light brightened, still dim but no longer about to blink out.</p>
<p>“Ri… ku…” Sora muttered weakly, and Riku’s heart soared. Sora was awake!</p>
<p>“Sora,” Riku whispered in relief, looking down at the boy he loved as he continued to run, squeezing him closer to his chest. Sora hadn’t opened his eyes—so maybe he wasn’t fully conscious yet—but he’d said Riku’s name. He’d felt Riku’s pull. Sora would survive this. Riku couldn’t help but let a tear fall, though rather than the sad ones that had been developing before, this one was a tear of joy, of hope.</p>
<p>Riku encountered Mickey soon after, who immediately called Donald and Goofy to meet them back at the ship and joined in casting “curaga” whenever his mana replenished.</p>
<p>When the two finally met up with Donald and Goofy, both Riku and Mickey were desperately trying to hold in their anger towards the dog and duck, at least until Sora was safely lying on Mickey’s GummiShip’s bench seat wrapped up in as many blankets as possible—Donald suggested using a fire spell to help out, but Riku and Mickey immediately pointed out that that was the worst way to help. Warming up someone too quickly could cause the body to go into shock. Riku sat on the bench with Sora, cradling the boy’s head in his lap and lightly stroking his hair.</p>
<p>Mickey, surprisingly, was the first one to start yelling. “What in the worlds were you two thinking?!” he raged, angrier than Riku had ever heard him. “Sending Sora out in the snow without proper clothes! Why, I’m surprised he didn’t pass out sooner! Didn’t he mention he was cold at all?!”</p>
<p>Donald looked confused. “But we weren’t that cold.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Goofy added. “We thought he was just complaining because he’s an islander, so not used to it.”</p>
<p>“You two have feathers and fur!” Riku yelled, “Humans don’t!” Riku began leaking darkness a little but found he didn’t care enough to immediately retract it this time. He was trying extremely hard to resist the urge to strangle them both. Especially Donald; Goofy could be a bit dim, but Donald should have known. Bafflement bled into Riku’s anger. How could they not have realized that? Having bare skin versus coverings such as feathers was one of the most obvious differences between species! </p>
<p>Donald shifted uncomfortably, looking down. “Guess we weren’t thinking about that,” he mumbled guiltily.</p>
<p>“We promise it won’t happen again,” Goofy added.</p>
<p>“No. No it won’t.” Mickey’s anger was still palpable. “You two are suspended until further notice.”</p>
<p>“Wak!” Donald exclaimed in shock.</p>
<p>Goofy just stared at Mickey in confusion. “Suspended?”</p>
<p>Mickey nodded. “Yes,” he said, voice tense but lowered to a more normal volume. “Your negligent actions nearly killed your comrade. You are to study human anatomy; when you pass a test showing you are capable of telling the difference between having feathers or fur versus skin, you will be reinstated. Until then, you are to refrain from any field activity, and will be confined to the castle.” Riku knew Mickey was a King and Goofy and Donald were technically his subordinates, but he hadn’t seen that power actually executed before, at least not to this extent. He was immensely impressed.</p>
<p>“But what about Sora!” Donald had the gall to ask.</p>
<p>“Sora needs us!” Goofy added. He didn’t seem nearly as upset as Donald; Riku wondered if Goofy understood the gravity of the situation, or even the reason he’d been suspended. Maybe he didn’t even understand what a suspension was. Riku honestly was beginning to wonder if the two were overall more of a hindrance to Sora than a help.</p>
<p>Mickey’s position held firm, his eyes set in determination. “Sora will do fine without you. My decision is final—and immediate. Leave for the castle at once, no pit stops. I’ll message Minnie that you’re on your way.”</p>
<p>“But Sora hasn’t woken up yet!”” Donald squawked. </p>
<p>Goofy nodded. “I’m sure he’ll want to talk to us.”</p>
<p>Riku glared at the two through narrowed eyes. “I’m not sure that’s in Sora’s best interests,” he said tersely, though managed to keep the darkness in check this time. He knew Sora would try to argue with the decision, make excuses for them, which would only escalate into a larger, more heated argument, the stress of which would not be good for Sora’s physical well-being immediately after being on death’s doorstep.</p>
<p>Mickey nodded. “Agreed. Leave, immediately. If you don’t, you’ll be written up, and your suspension extended—without pay this time.”</p>
<p>The two stood at attention, giving a salute. “Yes, sir,” they said at once, though their voices wavered slightly, and they hurried to leave the ship.</p>
<p>“Mmm. Riku?” Came a murmur from Riku’s lap. Sora had begun to wake.</p>
<p>“Sora!” Riku gasped in relief, resisting the urge to scoop him up into a bear hug.</p>
<p>“I heard yelling.” Sora blinked open his eyes, brilliant blue locking onto Riku.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it,” RIku said gently, carding his hands through Sora’s hair.</p>
<p>“Mmm, okay… you know, I had the strangest dream…”</p>
<p>“A dream?” Riku asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah… It felt so real, though... I was in this place that was all sea and sky, yet I could stand on the water. There was this strange little cat creature there…” Sora trailed off.</p>
<p>Riku blinked. “A cat creature?” he asked, trying to hide his nervousness as he subtly prodded Sora to continue. Something was telling him that the dream was not a typical dream.</p>
<p>“Mhmm. It was talking to me. I don’t remember exactly what it said, but it mentioned something about being in-between something, I think? Then it said I had to go back, because someone was waiting for me, and then I felt some sort of tug on my heart, and thought of you, and when I closed my eyes I woke up to you carrying me… well, kinda. I couldn’t actually open my eyes, but I know it was you.” Sora’s voice grew stronger the more he spoke, then looked confused. “Why are you crying?”</p>
<p>He was crying? Riku touched a hand to his cheek. Huh. Well, the emotional reaction certainly was justified; Sora had essentially told him he remembered dying, and that Riku had been the one to pull him back. Of course he would be crying.</p>
<p>Sora looked around, a little more cognizant now, noticing Mickey and then turning back to Riku. “Riku? Why are you and Mickey here, and not Donald and Goofy?”</p>
<p>Riku cringed. “Well, that’s… let’s not get into that right now, okay?”</p>
<p>Sora tried sitting up, struggling to get out of the blanket cocoon in a panic. “Wait! Are they okay? I was with them, and then we were knocked off of the mountain!”</p>
<p>Riku gently pushed Sora down again. “Shhh,” he said, trying to calm Sora. “They’re fine, don’t worry.”</p>
<p>“But, where are they?” Sora asked again, still distressed. Riku turned to Mickey, wondering what to say.</p>
<p>“They’re on a different assignment right now,” Mickey told him. It… technically wasn’t untrue, Riku supposed. “It was urgent, so they couldn’t wait for you to wake up.”</p>
<p>“They wanted to, though,” Riku said, knowing Sora would feel hurt thinking they’d left without saying goodbye to him.</p>
<p>Sora, who had released his arms from the blanket, struggled to sit up again, though with less urgency. Riku helped him, propping the brunette next to himself, and Sora settled into Riku’s side, Riku’s arm around his shoulder.</p>
<p>“But why just them?” Sora asked, undoubtedly wondering why he’d be left out.</p>
<p>“There are worlds out there where humans aren’t well-received,” Mickey replied. Again, technically not untrue, even though they weren’t actually going to such a world.</p>
<p>Sora then looked out the window, noticing something. “Hey! Their ship is still there! There’s still time to say goodbye!”</p>
<p>Riku clutched Sora’s shoulders tightly, trying to prevent him from getting up, but Sora managed to wriggle out of Riku’s arm and the blankets anyway. How could he have so much energy immediately after waking up from such an ordeal?</p>
<p>Riku grabbed Sora’s arm and pulled him into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around the brunette. “Oh, no you don’t. You are not going out in the cold immediately after nearly freezing to death!”</p>
<p>Sora stopped struggling, slightly confused. “Freezing to death?”</p>
<p>Riku sighed, nodding as Sora wiggled his arms free so Riku’s could settle his own arms around Sora’s waist. Sora then put his smaller hands over Riku’s; they fit together perfectly like this. Riku closed his eyes and rested his chin on Sora’s head. “Yeah. You went missing, and I found you unconscious in the snow… it was a really close call.”</p>
<p>Sora sat quietly for a moment, processing that. “So that dream… really wasn’t a dream?”</p>
<p>Riku hugged Sora tighter. “Maybe, maybe not; but what I do know is that at one point you were fading fast, so I tried reaching out through our link, then suddenly your light grew much stronger. Right after, you said my name…”</p>
<p>“Then it wasn’t a dream,” Sora whispered in awe. “Riku, you brought me back. You… you saved my life.” Riku couldn’t see Sora’s face, but felt the tears landing on their hands. “You saved my life, Riku!” he said louder, voice overjoyed. Then he quieted. “But, how?” he asked, slight confusion marring the happy lilt of his voice. “Weren’t you and Mickey on an important mission, too?”</p>
<p>Riku smiled into Sora’s hair. “You’re my light, Sora. My… my most important person. As soon as I heard you were in trouble… well, you take priority, Sora. Every time.”</p>
<p>“Every time?” Sora laced their fingers together.</p>
<p>“Mhmm. Every time.”</p>
<p>Sora leaned back further into Riku. “I love you,” he cooed happily.</p>
<p>Riku kissed Sora’s head lightly. “I love you, too,” he murmured automatically.</p>
<p>The two sat in a pleasant silence for a bit, Riku pondering what had just happened. Had they just… confessed to each other? That easily? Riku blushed slightly. Should he say something more? No, they could talk later. Maybe even share a kiss, if Sora really had meant that in the way Riku thought… which, considering Sora had taken the initiative of lacing their hands together, Riku was sure he had. He willed himself to leave the thought there; Riku had a habit of overthinking things.</p>
<p>“If you two don’t mind,” Mickey eventually said, “We do need to discuss what happens now.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Sora asked, voice confused.</p>
<p>“Well, we can’t just have you traveling the worlds on your own,” Mickey pointed out.</p>
<p>“But… Donald and Goofy…” Sora turned to look out the window again, Riku turning too, but the ship wasn’t there anymore. They must have left without them noticing.</p>
<p>“They won’t be traveling with you for now,” Mickey said, again avoiding why exactly. Riku was grateful for that; he didn’t want Sora to be upset. He’d eventually learn of it, of course, but this wasn’t a good time to tell him. </p>
<p>“Then what will I… Oh!” Sora almost jumped up again, but Riku still held him tightly. “I almost forgot! We have to help Elsa! She looked so sad… Larxene said she only wanted to watch her, but…”</p>
<p>Riku shook his head. “You need to let it go for now.”</p>
<p>“But—” Sora struggled a little.</p>
<p>“Sora.” Riku said firmly.</p>
<p>Sora relaxed. “Fine,” he pouted.</p>
<p>Mickey chuckled in amusement. “Huh. He really does only listen to you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I started writing more, thinking it'd be fun to have Mickey and Riku finish the Arendelle mission with Sora, but then I realized that that world is 90% mountain-climbing with the other 10% basically being the characters watching scenes from the film. Literally nothing to work with.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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